April book club is on its way... and the book of the month for april is the 2006 Man Booker Winner The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Wednesday 4 March 2009
are we ROCKSTARS or what?!?!
last night you could tell there was definite consensus on our lack on engagement in the march book - Anne Enright - The Gathering.
Books were shared round - thank you M! who brought along a few to share-
One reportedly didnt open the book, one made it to page 6, another to like page 29? and lastly i myself only managed to page 106.... 
Books were shared round - thank you M! who brought along a few to share-
conversations did centre around books and bookish things, but soon we were waning from the desperation of trying to read enright.... and the conversation took a turn.....
somehow we got to tactics and strategy for urinal selection, and a masterclass from R and M, followed by a skills test for A and much cheering and support from J ( in top photo you can see the urinals ( empty sauce bowls) and the "people" (salt shakers.)
lets just say after that it was all CLASS.
see you all next time... 7th april. maybe same venue?
Thursday 26 February 2009
march 2009 man bookers
The book of the month ( not that anyone has to read it) for march is the 2007 Man Booker winner Anne Enright The Gathering.
A bit about it and some questions can be found about it here and a slightly worse for the wear (negative in my opinion) review can be found here and of course there is always amazon.
dont know if any of the rest of you ( beides R) have started reading it... but i am finding it a hard one to get into this time in spite of its supposed shortness. not sure if i wil even finish it by tuesday...
at any rate our next meeting is nearly upon us and i will see you all next tuesday at the calico. details in diary request, or email me if you need them.
see you soon
Monday 23 February 2009
Margaret Atwood The Blind Assassin
Emma's Book :
The novel centres around the protagonist, Iris Chase, and her sister Laura, who committed suicide immediately after the Second World War. Iris, now an old woman, recalls the events and relationships of her childhood, youth and middle age, as well as her unhappy marriage to Richard Griffen, a rival of her industrialist father. Interwoven into the novel is a story within a story, a roman à clef attributed to Laura and published by Iris about Alex Thomas, a politically radical author of pulp science fiction who has an ambiguous relationship with the sisters. That novel itself contains a story within a story, the eponymous Blind Assassin, a science fiction story told by Alex's fictional counterpart to that novel's protagonist.
The novel takes the form of a gradual revelation, illuminating both Iris' youth and her old age before coming to the pivotal events of her and Laura's lives around the time of the Second World War. As the novel unfolds, and the novel-within-a-novel becomes ever more obviously inspired by real events, it becomes clear that Laura's novel isn't what it seems.
The book is set in the fictional Ontario town of Port Ticonderoga and in the Toronto of the 1930s and 1940s. It is a work of historical fiction with the major events of Canadian history forming an important backdrop to the novel. Greater verisimilitude is given through a series of newspaper articles that comment on events and on the novel's characters from a distance.
The novel centres around the protagonist, Iris Chase, and her sister Laura, who committed suicide immediately after the Second World War. Iris, now an old woman, recalls the events and relationships of her childhood, youth and middle age, as well as her unhappy marriage to Richard Griffen, a rival of her industrialist father. Interwoven into the novel is a story within a story, a roman à clef attributed to Laura and published by Iris about Alex Thomas, a politically radical author of pulp science fiction who has an ambiguous relationship with the sisters. That novel itself contains a story within a story, the eponymous Blind Assassin, a science fiction story told by Alex's fictional counterpart to that novel's protagonist.
The novel takes the form of a gradual revelation, illuminating both Iris' youth and her old age before coming to the pivotal events of her and Laura's lives around the time of the Second World War. As the novel unfolds, and the novel-within-a-novel becomes ever more obviously inspired by real events, it becomes clear that Laura's novel isn't what it seems.
The book is set in the fictional Ontario town of Port Ticonderoga and in the Toronto of the 1930s and 1940s. It is a work of historical fiction with the major events of Canadian history forming an important backdrop to the novel. Greater verisimilitude is given through a series of newspaper articles that comment on events and on the novel's characters from a distance.
the first mtg in review -
Hello all,
Just thought I would drop a quick note to recap some of the books I spoke about ( in the hope that some of you might get a chance to do the same) in case anyone wanted to remember a book title someone else mentioned but couldn’t. J
I want to start off my thanking you all for coming to the first book club mtg I have ever been to. J I had a great time and it was entirely what I had envisioned. ( except of course the pub noises, which I do not know how we would ever avoid… and saying that it was a rather nice pub and the crowd was not TOOO bad J Thank you very much Jo for the suggestion J xx)
Books I mentioned:
The Other Hand http://www.amazon.co.uk/Other-Hand-Chris-Cleave/dp/0340963425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943395&sr=1-1 ( I meant to say read this if you liked – a thousand splendid suns, and the bookseller of kabil etc )
She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shes-Come-Undone-Wally-Lamb/dp/0684860090/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943807&sr=1-3
Another book of his – I know this much is true -is quite good as well and would probably be favoured by those of you who are a bit more serious than me in their literary taste. – I am sure jenny, jo and emma would all devour it.
Time Travellers Wife http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Travelers-Wife-Audrey-Niffenegger/dp/0224071912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943631&sr=1-1
And of course Life of Pi http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/184195392X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943660&sr=1-1
The ones I would also have liked to mention are:
Amelie Nothomb – the life of hunger- it’s a quirky book and not for all. Features heavily on my fave subject ( food/ weight) but is very well written by an amazing writer. She is French, and so there is also a certain snobbery to her personality, that for me adds to its charm J x http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Hunger-Amelie-Nothomb/dp/0571229549/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943698&sr=1-4
And of course ANYTHING by Alice Sebold ( lucky, the lovely bones)and anything by AM homes ( especially this book will save your life, or the mistress’ daughter – her personal memoir)
Anyway I am sure that is more than enough for now J if anyone wants to do the same and reply all by email I am sure peeps will appreciate it. J
Thanks again for coming and I hope you enjoyed it.
Will be in touch soon re the next venue etc.
The next man booker book is Anne Enright – The Gathering http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gathering-Anne-Enright/dp/0099501635/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234944079&sr=1-1
Best wishes
Ax
Just thought I would drop a quick note to recap some of the books I spoke about ( in the hope that some of you might get a chance to do the same) in case anyone wanted to remember a book title someone else mentioned but couldn’t. J
I want to start off my thanking you all for coming to the first book club mtg I have ever been to. J I had a great time and it was entirely what I had envisioned. ( except of course the pub noises, which I do not know how we would ever avoid… and saying that it was a rather nice pub and the crowd was not TOOO bad J Thank you very much Jo for the suggestion J xx)
Books I mentioned:
The Other Hand http://www.amazon.co.uk/Other-Hand-Chris-Cleave/dp/0340963425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943395&sr=1-1 ( I meant to say read this if you liked – a thousand splendid suns, and the bookseller of kabil etc )
She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shes-Come-Undone-Wally-Lamb/dp/0684860090/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943807&sr=1-3
Another book of his – I know this much is true -is quite good as well and would probably be favoured by those of you who are a bit more serious than me in their literary taste. – I am sure jenny, jo and emma would all devour it.
Time Travellers Wife http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Travelers-Wife-Audrey-Niffenegger/dp/0224071912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943631&sr=1-1
And of course Life of Pi http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/184195392X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943660&sr=1-1
The ones I would also have liked to mention are:
Amelie Nothomb – the life of hunger- it’s a quirky book and not for all. Features heavily on my fave subject ( food/ weight) but is very well written by an amazing writer. She is French, and so there is also a certain snobbery to her personality, that for me adds to its charm J x http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Hunger-Amelie-Nothomb/dp/0571229549/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234943698&sr=1-4
And of course ANYTHING by Alice Sebold ( lucky, the lovely bones)and anything by AM homes ( especially this book will save your life, or the mistress’ daughter – her personal memoir)
Anyway I am sure that is more than enough for now J if anyone wants to do the same and reply all by email I am sure peeps will appreciate it. J
Thanks again for coming and I hope you enjoyed it.
Will be in touch soon re the next venue etc.
The next man booker book is Anne Enright – The Gathering http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gathering-Anne-Enright/dp/0099501635/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234944079&sr=1-1
Best wishes
Ax
a blog for the man bookers
just wanted a place to post the goings on on the man bookers book club readings
.... :)Em and i had a chat and thought it might be a good tool....
.... :)Em and i had a chat and thought it might be a good tool....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)